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hobbit_wordle.jpg The Hobbit Discussion Questions

Question March 2, 2011

A good story contains conflicts to keep the reader reading. Three types of conflict frequently found in literature are:
Examples
Character against Character (Ponyboy's conflict with older brother Darry)
Character against Nature (Conflict in survivor stories like Hatchet)
Character against Self (Conflict when a character must choose between right and wrong)



Choose one conflict in The Hobbit, and explain how Tolkien uses it to move the story forward. Don't forget to cite page number when appropriate.

Hobbit Question 2 March


Question 1 answer. One conflict in the hobbit is character against character. That happens when Bilbo meets Gollum.(Pages 82-90) First they tell word choice... tell riddles ?? riddles until Bilbo asks Gollum an impossible question, "What is in my pocket?", and Gollum got very mad and guessed a couple times and said it was unfair. Bilbo said it wasn't and Gollum got furious and was trying to kill Bilbo so Bilbo ran back into the tunnels to get away from Gollum.(run on) Bilbo avoids Gollum by jumping over him and landed. He was away from Gollum but he ran right in front of the goblins and he put on the ring to avoid them and ran out of the cave. Did you proof this? How did run right in front? What was his secret? I would like to hear your reaction to reading this the first time. Did you find it exciting? Do you see how Tolkien built suspense? Not complete ~Mrs. Best

Michael Mackey
Reading - 8
3-4-11

Nice job, Christer! This is the exact same scene that I used for my response. I thought this was the most exciting scene in the book so far. I think there was one important part that you might have left out, and that is a little part about the ring. The ring was important to escaping Gollum, too, because Gollum couldn't see him. I think you did a very good job!

Hobbit Question 2
March 4, 2011
In your own words, describe what happens next to Bilbo and the dwarves in the forest.

Question #2 answer: Once the dwarves and Gandalf stop celebrating that Bilbo came back, they started their journey again because it wouldn't be long until the goblins would be after them. When they got to the forest they heard wolves howling at the moon. Because wolves are dangerous they started hiding up in trees but poor little Bilbo couldn't get up in a tree so on of the dwarves helped him up. The wolves saw Biblo and were racing to get him so once Bilbo was up in the tree the wolves circled their tree. It wasn't long until they found out about the others, so they also circled their trees to and they just stayed up in the trees because wolves couldn't climb trees. When they wouldn't go away Gandalf lit a pinecone on fire and threw it at the wolves. The wolves were all afraid and kept knoking into eachother and starting others on fire. Then the goblins came down because they thought it was war with the tree people. Some of them laughed and rolled on the floor because it wasn't. Just then eagles came out of the sky and rescued the whole group. This is quite complete. Good job. ~Mrs. Best


Question #3 answer: A lot of summers ago I was really into water, swimming, and getting wet because that summer I think I swam more than I walked. Anyway I really wanted to learn how to dive and twist in the air like the Olympians at the Olympics. I was watching the olympics and my dad came home and said that we were going to go to Grandma's and Grandpa's house. (which has a pool in it's backyard) I was really excited because their pool had a diving board which I really love to dive off of. When we got there I bolted to my grandparent's gave them hugs and got my swimsuit on then zoomed to the pool. Just when I got to the patio my mom snatched me from the collar and said to help unpack and that I need sunscreen. After I did that, I bolted down to the pool to see then that it was covered. I sat down and thought and came up with the solution me and my brother could take the cover off. So we did and just when I got on the diving board I heard the lunchtime call. So I trudged up the stairs and sat down and found out that it was my grandma's famous chili (my favorite grub). After about ten serving of chili I had to sit down for about another hour to digest the enormous pile of chili I forked down my thought. Once I felt better I asked my mom to see if I could swim and my most dreaded and hated word came out of her mouth "No". I asked her why and she said no one else wanted to swim write now. Then I asked my little brother Peter almost sure I'd get a yes out of him he said "NO" very crossly. Then I asked my older brother Nik who was already sleeping because of his ferocious meal he ate to. Then we waited around and visited with our grandparents. Then it was dinner time and we had my other favorite pigsicles. By the time we all finished it was 7:00 P.M. and no time to swim. So after dessert we got dressed for bed and went to bed. When we woke up we had to go to Church in which Father had an extra long homily. Once we got back we had a big breakfast which was another one of my favorites cream beef on toast. After an hour I could finally go swimming. The second my mom said that I bolted upstairs got my swimsuit on and got my sunblock on and launched into the pool and started warming up for my flips. I started by just jumping off the diving bored, then diving, then I started or at least tried to flip. On one of my tries I just closed my eyes almost giving up all hope I ran up and sprang off the board flying forward throwing myself forward. After that I just swam out thinking I accomplished nothing when my mom came out and showed me a video of me just flipping seconds ago. I was really confused but then I got it. Mom was secretly taping me when I was starting to flip, and she said you completed the flip and to keep doing them. Then I believed I could do anything that day because of my success of flipping.
From this experience I learned how patient I was like when Bilbo fount out how courageous he was when he was slicing spiders and leading his lads through the lush forest. I also learned that if you give up you will not achieve greatness like when Bilbo never gave up on looking for a way out of the elf kingdom. This is how Bilbo and I grew from our adventures. ~ This was a great connection. I loved reading this adventure! Do you still dive? That is amazing you taught yourself! Wow! ~Mrs. Best

Question #4
If Thorin could have lived, do you think he would have regretted his greed? What do you think Tolkien is trying to teach us about material wealth by Thorin's death? In your response, site textual evidence to support your response. Use page numbers too.

Question #4 answer:
If Thorin would have lived I don't think that he would of regretted being that greedy. I mean that because his ancestors owned the treasure and loved it. If my grandpa had a ring that he got from his grandpa who got it from his grandpa and someone wanted to have it I would want to protect it. That treasure was his ancestors and then the wealth would of been passed on to him so it would have been his and someone wanted it. If I had a friend who had a cool pencil and I did something for him and I asked for the pencil in return for that, I would feel like a jerk because you do things out of kindness, not for things. That is why I don't thing he would of regretted his greediness. Page 289 ..." For the Arkenstone of my father," he said, "is worth more than a river of gold itself, and to me it is beyond price.".... ~ When Thorin died, things he said demonstrated how he regretted being greedy. If you read that part, you will see what Tolkien wants to teach us about material things - no matter to whom they originally belonged. ~Mrs. Best